Chapter 7

Lady Kalique was engrossed in party preparations and had lost track of time but realized suddenly that she had not seen Gaitha. She should have been back by now. At the same time Maledictes found her and told her that Gavidon was frantically trying to locate her. Kalique fairly flew to the com-room.

"What's happened?" she cried, hand to her breast and panic on her face.

"My Lady, I have not had any communication from Lady Gaitha in about twenty minutes!"

Gavidon and most of Lady Kalique's entourage and employees were fond of Gaitha and Gavidon, though not yet fearful, certainly looked concerned.

"What about the tracking beacon, can't you locate her with that?"

"The tracking beacon fell off our radar about ten minutes after that. I have been trying to hail her for the last ten minutes and am getting no response."

Lady Kalique drew a deep breath and steadied herself.

"Keep trying and send an FTL to Caine and Jupiter who are likely on their way here as we speak. Make sure you leave a channel open for the tracking signal from the wristwatch which I hope she has found if she is indeed in trouble."

She dared not to even think it.

"Yes my Lady."

"Make sure that you also monitor the locket camera."

She turned to Maledictes. "Dragar should be back by now, see if you can find him and tell him to get ready to join her Majesty, Caine, and myself by the docking bay. We will start the search as soon as they arrive."

She turned back to Gavidon.

"Contact me immediately with any new developments," and with that she flew from the room, heading toward the bay she knew that Jupiter and Caine would be docking at any minute now.

By the time Kalique got to the docking bay Caine and Jupiter, followed by Stinger Apini and his daughter Kiza were disembarking from their clipper. She quickly explained the situation. Caine was angry as Kalique knew he would be.

"You did what" he thundered, "and without anyone else with her?"

Jupiter intervened, "Caine it is going to help her if we sit here and argue about this now." Caine turned to look at her and immediately became calm. Jupiter was the only one who could calm him when he became this angry but she was like a balm that soothed the lycantant in him. Stinger was quickly caught up to them as he overheard the conversation.

Kalique spoke again, "Caine if she is in trouble she will keep a level head. I equipped her with everything I thought she might need in that jumper, including a camera locket and a multi-function wrist watch. She is well-trained, you saw to that yourself."

Caine already knew that the tracking beacon would have been disabled, his gut told him this was no mere ship malfunction and that there was someone else involved. He also knew by the lack of her scent could only mean that whoever had her had de-scented the entire ship. Beyond Kalique's alcazar her scent disappeared. He turned to Stinger.

"Gear up and be ready to meet me back here in 10 minutes."

"Already on it," he said over his shoulder as he was quickly heading back to the ship.

"Gavidon heard the arrival of Caine and blurted, "Sir she just turned the tracking device in the watch on."

"Thank God," came the simultaneous voices of Kalique and Jupiter.

Suddenly the monitor for the locket-cam started up and showed the image of a shaft that was moving by the camera. A whispery voice came over the com.

"Hello, can anybody hear me?"

A sigh of relief was echoed by everyone in the room. Caine reached for the com button for the locket-cam monitor.

"Gaitha, what's going on? If you're in that shaft then something is seriously wrong."

The whispery voice ghosted through the speakers again.

"Dad" and the relief could be heard in that voice, "yeah you got that right."

"We have your tracking device on radar and we are leaving to come get you now but before we do what can you tell me?"

The Gaitha on film stopped in the shaft and they could see her legs as she stopped and sat cross-legged. Her voice came over a little stronger.

"There's a Sargorn and a twitchy little rat man who says his name is Chicanery Knight. He says you and mom killed Uncle Balem and he lost his job and means of making a living and is pretty mad. The lizard's name is Greeghan and Dad you sure did a job on him. He is missing half his tail and he has an artificial right wing. The rat-man saved him at Uncle Balem's refinery before it blew."

Caine's mouthed thinned and his eyes blazed with his barely suppressed fury. Jupiter gasped behind him. Suddenly there was a growl from behind them, causing them all to turn towards Dragar's giant form coming through the door. Caine gave him a brief nod and turned back to the com.

"We are coming to get you so sit tight." He turned to Kalique "Did you have a panic room installed?"

"Yes," was Kalique's breathy reply. "It's under the bench in the atrium; the control is on the left side of the right back leg of the bench."

"Did you hear that honey? Do you think you can get there before they know you are gone?"

They could see Gaitha uncross her legs and start to move again. "I don't remember where the atrium is, I only took a quick tour before heading back to the com-room and finding the Sargorn."

Kalique quickly interjected, "Gaitha, there is a schematic of your jumper two junctions up and to your left."

"Okay I am headed there now, please hurry Dad."

The voice cracked the tiniest bit but this was the only real emotion Gaitha had revealed but it galvanized Caine and Dragar and frightened Jupiter and Kalique. Caine turned around to Dragar and the two women.

"Let's go" he growled but suddenly Gavidon yelled for Caine.

"Sir, the tracking beacon is fading, I think..I think they are portaling."

"That can't be I didn't add portaling capabilities to the jumper," came Kalique's voice.

"Well somebody certainly did."

With that Caine and Dragar followed by Jupiter and Kalique quickly headed back to the bay where Stinger was waiting. He threw a blaster which Caine deftly caught before leading the way back on board Caine and Jupiter's ship. The men working the dock barely had released the bay locks before Caine was backing the ship out and heading out the bay doors. Once clear he set a portal to her most recent coordinates. But there was nothing there. Jupiter began to cry softly and Kalique followed suit, both of them reaching out to the other for support. Caine's lips thinned and his canines showed; his growl was echoed by Dragar's.